


highest fall you'll ever grace

by ahnakins



Series: the stars and the wars and greek mythology [2]
Category: Star Wars
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Greek mythology parallels, Icarus!Anakin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-13
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-08-14 19:10:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8025565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahnakins/pseuds/ahnakins
Summary: He remembers every story he hears, and he holds it to his heart so tight that it bleeds and he believes.





	highest fall you'll ever grace

This is not a new story.

It has been told many times, under different names, in different places. The story of a boy who flies, who falls, and who dies. It repeats itself throughout the generations, an endless cycle of hope and tragedy.

It tells itself again on a small planet called Tatooine.

* * *

 

It starts with a boy with a big dream.

Anakin Skywalker dreams of becoming a pilot. 

It’s an impossible dream. He’s a slave after all, and he’ll never be freed. He’s too useful. He listens to the stories the pilots tell, when they come through Watto’s shop looking for spare parts and repairs.

He listens and he remembers.

He remembers every story he hears, and he holds it to his heart so tight that it bleeds and he believes.

* * *

 

The boy is shown freedom.

Freedom comes to Anakin in the form of a man called Qui-Gon Jinn. The man is a Jedi, like in one of the stories the pilots tell, except now he knows that the stories are actually true. 

Freedom comes at a cost: his mother. Anakin can leave his slave life behind and become a Jedi — even better than a pilot, he thinks — or he can stay on Tatooine with his mother.

Anakin Skywalker chooses freedom.

* * *

 

The boy flies.

It’s hard being a Jedi. Anakin is a foreigner in the vast expanse of the Temple, whispers following him wherever he goes. It doesn’t matter. Anakin gets stronger, stronger than anyone else, until the Force itself bows to his command.

He’s never alone in his endeavours. On every mission, every battle, Obi-Wan Kenobi is by his side. He grounds Anakin, helps him, never giving up on his padawan. His friend. His family? Their relationship is fraught with uncertainty, but there is one thing that Anakin is sure of: he loves Obi-Wan, no matter what form the love takes.

Anakin also loves Padmé Amidala. Their relationship is undoubtedly romantic, but that’s a secret only they keep. Their kisses are quick, stolen under moonlight. Their conversations are almost comically stiff and formal until they’re alone. Anakin is just happy he’s with the woman he loves.

* * *

 

The boy aims higher.

The dreams haunt him for months. It’s always the same: Padmé, dying in childbirth. It horrifies Anakin. He can’t make it stop.

He does everything he can. It’s not enough. He reaches further. The dark envelopes him.

* * *

 

The boy falls.

The dark pulls him down, twisting his thoughts. Every belief he has ever held — it is turned around, destroyed, mutilated beyond recognition.

He turns his back on the Jedi, pausing only to destroy them. Then he turns his back on Obi-Wan, and Padmé. He tries to kill them. He kills Padmé. He nearly kills Obi-Wan.

Before he knows it, he is falling down to a river of lava, no limbs save for his artificial hand, and then it’s pain beyond belief, his skin melting, his hair burning, his body going up in flames —

* * *

 

The boy dies.

It’s not a quick death for Anakin Skywalker. It takes twenty-three long years, in which he rules and tortures and is ruled and tortured, He never forgets what happened. He holds it close to his heart, his heart that is still bleeding and never stops. 

His saviour comes in the form of his son who forgives him for everything. Anakin doesn’t deserve it. He doesn’t deserve anything.

Anakin’s final act is not so much an act as a message. He kills his master, and in doing so he proclaims _I am Anakin Skywalker. I have believed and flown and fallen and yet I am still here. I die a free man._

* * *

 

Anakin Skywalker dies, not in tragedy, but in hope.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! I had lots of fun writing this, Icarus is one of my favourite Greek myths :) Please leave kudos and maybe a comment? I love hearing from all of you! Thanks!


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